William Young (architect)

William Young (baptized 25 March 1843 – 1 November 1900) was a Scottish architect, the designer of Glasgow City Chambers.

Biography

Early life

Young was born in Paisley, Scotland in 1843, the son of James Young, a bootmaker and spirit dealer. He was baptized on 25 March that year.^[1]

Career

During the late 1850s he was articled to James Jamieson Lamb of Paisley, but moved in 1859 to the Glasgow office of William Nairne Tait. He then spent time in Manchester before settling in London in 1865 as an assistant in the office of Charles Henry Howell, the Surrey

, near Peterborough.

He set up in premises in the Strand and received a steady stream of commissions, including

Competition of 1891. With the help of Lord Elcho, however, he was given the commission for the new War Office in Whitehall (later completed by his son, Clyde Francis Young). In addition to his design work he wrote a number of publications to advertise his work, such as "Town and Country Mansions and Suburban Houses" in 1873 and "Town and Country Mansions with Notes on the Sanitary and Artistic Construction of Houses" in 1878.

In 1881 he won the competition for Glasgow City Chambers in George Square, Glasgow. This building, built between 1881 and 1890, features the largest set of sculptures in the city, symbolizing aspects of the city's industrial, commercial and cultural achievement.

He was admitted FRIBA in 1891.

Death

He died in 1900 at 23 Oakhill Road, his home in Putney, London (which he designed himself in 1879), and was buried at Putney Vale Cemetery. His practice was continued after his death by his son Clyde, who completed the work in progress of his father, including the extensive alterations to Elveden Hall, Suffolk.^[2]

References

• "Biography of William Young". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
• "William Young (1843-1900)". Glasgow - City of Sculpture website. Retrieved 11 February 2013.